T-Mobile previously announced that it plans to shut down MetroPCS’s CDMA network by 2015 and repurpose the spectrum to expand its 4G LTE coverage. The carrier revealed last week that its plan to migrate subscribers from CDMA to HSPA+ and devices is already ahead of schedule, however, and it’s trying to entice customers to switch networks by launching a “Bring Your Own Phone” program in Boston, Dallas, Las Vegas and Hartford that allows customers to bring an unlocked smartphone to use on T-Mobile’s network.

T-Mobile USA and MetroPCS are no more. In their place we now find T-Mobile US, the merged entity set to begin trading as TMUS. The Associated Press reported that the acquisition was set to be completed after the closing bell on Tuesday, and the deal is now done; the newly formed entity enters the fray with a market capitalization of about $17 billion. T-Mobile also added 9 million subscribers to its coffers with the deal, so its customer count has now climbed to 43 million — which still makes it the No.4 carrier in the United States. MetroPCS investors are netting $4.08 per share from the deal, and they will also receive half a share of T-Mobile US for each share of MetroPCS common stock they had owned, resulting in a combined 26% stake in the new company.

The merger between T-Mobile and MetroPCS is very close to getting official now that Deutsche Telekom’s revised offer has led some major shareholders to drop their objections to the deal. MetroPCS announced on Monday that its board of directors had unanimously approved the new merger terms and said that the revised deal “significantly improves the value of the proposed combination for MetroPCS stockholders” while adding that the proposed merger “is in the best interest of all MetroPCS stockholders.” The MetroPCS merger is the linchpin of T-Mobile’s strategy to expand its operations in the United States since the prepaid wireless carrier already offers LTE services in several major metropolitan markets. MetroPCS shareholders are scheduled to vote to approve or reject the merger on April 24th.

Deutsche Telekom’s latest effort to sweeten its offer to MetroPCS (PCS) shareholders has apparently done the trick as Bloomberg reports that MetroPCS’s biggest shareholder has now tentatively come out in favor of its merger with T-Mobile. Paulson & Co., the hedge fund founded by famous investor John Paulson, said on Thursday that it “intends to vote for the merger as restructured” now that Deutsche Telekom has upped its offer, although the firm said it still needs “to review the revised proxy statement before making a final decision.” With Paulson likely to drop opposition to the acquisition, though, it seems that the final hurdle to MetroPCS and T-Mobile merging is about to be cleared.

T-Mobile CEO John Legere has shown he can trash-talk, but he may soon have to show that he can sweet-talk as well. Per Bloomberg, New Street Research analyst Jonathan Chaplin says that T-Mobile and MetroPCS (PCS) right now “don’t have enough votes” among MetroPCS shareholders to get their proposed merger approved. The merger’s prospects are apparently so bad right now that Chaplin says T-Mobile parent company Deutsche Telekom “would be crazy to let it go to a vote” and that it will have to “sweeten” its offer if it hopes to win shareholder approval. MetroPCS shareholders are scheduled to vote on the proposed merger at a special meeting on April 12th.

T-Mobile CEO John Legere strikes a rather populist tone compared to your typical businessperson and now he’s going after “greedy hedge funds” who are allegedly trying to block his company’s merger with MetroPCS (PCS). Per Bloomberg, Legere this week expressed confidence that MetroPCS shareholders would vote in favor of merging with T-Mobile “despite the greedy hedge funds that are trying to take a double-dip out of that process.” Legere went onto explain that big hedge funds who own large stakes in companies typically make a lot of noise during acquisitions because they want “to get more money” through empty sabre rattling. Legere also made headlines this week when he described rival carrier AT&T’s (T) mobile plans as “the biggest crock of s—” he’s ever seen.

The proposed merger of No.4 wireless carrier T-Mobile USA and MetroPCS (PCS) cleared a major hurdle earlier this week, but some troubling news accompanied the win: more than 100 T-Mobile employees are reportedly set to lose their jobs. The Seattle Times reports that more than 100 people in T-Mobile’s marketing group and across other departments will be laid off during “integration” meetings scheduled to take place on Thursday. T-Mobile employed approximately 36,000 people across the country in 2012. MetroPCS shareholders will convene on April 12th to vote on the merger, which is still being reviewed by regulators.

While voice over LTE technology is seen as the future of the mobile industry, recent tests have found that the it could reduce a smartphones battery life in half. According to a report from ST-Ericsson, however, next-generation LTE radios with VoLTE capabilities will actually increase battery life and reduce power consumption by 50%. In addition to being more efficient, the technology has special protocols that would improve call quality by reducing signaling overhead and improve performance in weak coverage points. VoLTE could be the beginning of the end for minute-based voice plans since calling and messaging will be sent through a carrier’s data network. MetroPCS (PCS) has already launched VoLTE in select markets and Verizon Wireless (VZ), the nation’s largest carrier, has announced plans to utilize the technology in 2013 with widespread availability slated for early 2014.